Fed Up of Procedures? Go, DIE!

The process of renewing a Sri Lankan passport is simple and fast. This morning, we discovered exactly how fast - when Uncle and I decided to get the validity of his passport extended by five years. We visited the Department of Immigration and Emigration (DIE) in Punchi Borella.

The approach to the offices was like a bazaar, with colourful shops and restaurants in which to while away the waiting hours. We entered the building at 11 o’clock sharp.

Having obtained a form from Jetwing Travels and filled it up at home, there was no time lost. It was a simple matter of getting a signature, paying the appropriate fees (LKR 500 for a five-year extension) and waiting for the renewed travel document.

Signboards posted all over suggested that the passport would be ready “within two hours”. The dynamic gentleman behind the counter provided us with entertainment and kept us posted on the status.

Exactly an hour after we had entered the office, we were out – with Uncle’s passport having been renewed till April 2013! Considering that this office frequently handles more than 1,000 renewal requests on a single day, the experience was like a breath of fresh air.

Go, DIE!

...Madison County, Anybody...?

When I was younger, I used to get my literary kicks reading books by Alistair MacLean. His descriptions blended fact with fiction and captured my imagination. I still recall how, in Fear Is the Key, I think, he describes how a fugitive evades arrest by climbing a tree... He then explains the role of the protuberance above the eye and how it prevented the pursuers from seeing the fugitive.

…I lost my reading habit when I started working. I preferred spending my non-working hours with some interesting friends, I guess.

However, in 2000, I met with a car crash in which I almost lost my left arm. While recuperating in hospital, I started catching up with reading. I started with John Grisham and got hooked on his story-telling style. I was a die-hard Grisham fan, still am. The Firm was my first book followed in quick succession by A Time to Kill and Runaway Jury.

I prefer the Grisham books to the movies that they have been made into. Give me a good book any day… Books spur the imagination, while movies generally tend to be damp squibs, especially after you have read the book.

I generally like the books that have been recommended to me. One memorable book was Ladies Coupe by Anita Nair – for the insights the book gave me into the feminine psyche. One exception was Lolita, which bordered on soft pornography at times but made for heavy reading.

The Bridges of Madison County must qualify as one of the best books that I’ve ever read. The treatment of the theme is sensitive; it touched a chord somewhere deep down inside me. ‘…Madison County’ takes story telling to another level, drawing on the finest human emotions. Few authors can draw pictures with their words and portray characters as realistically as Robert James Waller does.

So, what’s the book about? I’m not telling, but I am willing to lend the book to anybody who appreciates a heart-warming love story. The only condition is that you lend it forward…

"This Too Shall Pass"

When I first met Uncle at Veeranna Gardens more than twenty years ago, I spent a lot of time with him. I needed to… because I was courting one of his daughters and I had to impress him before I could even begin to impress her.

He told me how mischievous his daughter had been when she was younger – but that did not dissuade me.

Uncle and I spent a lot of time together, drinking endless cups of tea together as he regaled me with stories of British Army life. We discussed everything under the sun: politics, sport, religion and life in general. I recall with fondness his sense of humour and his happiness despite the adverse circumstances during those days.

What impressed me most about him was his sense of history. He seemed to know everything that had happened in the past. By all accounts, he had already lived a life that was full.

In his later years, after the stroke that he suffered, I remember Uncle for his resilience. Against all odds, he soldiered on and was there with a welcoming smile whenever we visited him.

We still have vivid memories of my sister’s wedding reception, at which Uncle and Aunty surprised us all by doing an impromptu dance. That picture will be embedded in our minds for a long time.

My father-in-law was a good man who did his best for his family. He is in a better place now and life goes on for the rest of us. Looking down at his wife and children - his pride and joy, he would want them to be strong. I think he would want them to be comforted by the words of this song:

“The Father knows the tears you cry before they fall
He feels your pain, His heart and yours are one
The Father knows that sorrow's heavy chains are strong
But with His strength, you'll overcome.

“This too shall pass
Like every night that's come before it
He'll never give you more than you can bear
This too shall pass
So in this thought be comforted
It's in His Hands
This too shall pass.”

On Dates and First Impressions

My overall impression of Dubai is that it’s a great place in which to experience a new and alien culture. However, when it comes to living, I’d prefer Colombo, Bangalore or Goa any day… The fast pace of life in Dubai cramps my style, which probably indicates that I am not as young as I used to be.

The traffic is certainly fast but, thankfully, orderly. The public transport sucks - Taxis are expensive and unpredictable. Buses are predictable: You can consider yourself fortunate when the bus you are waiting for arrives in less than 45 minutes.

Like the Yanks, the Arabs drive on the wrong side of the road – I mean the right hand side. On my first day in the Middle East, I looked right while stepping off the kerb, into the path of an oncoming car. Luckily for me, the driver braked and waved me across. “Another Indian,” he must have assumed.

These Indians are everywhere. I asked a young man managing an Internet café whether he was from Tamil Nadu. “No, from Kerala,” he replied.

I ordered a parota and kurma at an Indian restaurant. They were good, but the uppuma that my Aunt ordered smelt better. The buffet lunch and ginger beer at ‘Chef Lanka’ nearby was worth the price (AED 14) for nostalgia value.

Unlike housing, electronics is reasonably priced. Uncle bought a desktop - complete with web cam and Internet access - for AED 2,200 (LKR 66,000).

Dubai’s malls and departmental stores are a browser’s delight. The chilled buttermilk in cartons (brand: Laban-up) and unlimited variety of fruit juices were delicious.

In BurJuman, there was a shop specializing in date products - including date wine and ‘chocoDates’; these were a gastronomical experience. My personal favourite was dates stuffed with marzipan, probably because it was after a long time that a lady was offering me a free date!

Fast Cricket and Slow Beaches

Because it was the holy month of Ramadan, there was no way I could eat, drink or smoke in public between sunrise and sunset. That was certainly out of respect for the locals’ customs. Besides, taking such liberties would have resulted in instant censure... However, I did manage to quaff a glass of chilled water in the pantry of my uncle’s office – and felt guilty at the transgression!

The Twenty20 World Cup was in full swing… Desiree Premachandra, SriLankan Airlines’ Country Manager for the UAE, invited the diaspora to watch Sri Lanka playing New Zealand at the Marco Polo Hotel. We watched the match on a big screen, while hogging cashew nuts and short-eats (washed down with Bacardi and coke). When Sri Lanka won by seven wickets, party-poppers were distributed to celebrate the victory.

On another evening, Mark Pillai, HR Manager – Middle East of Halliburton Ltd, treated me to a few rounds of the brew that cheers at The Seamen’s Club, while we watched India beat Australia by fifteen runs. The Indian expatriates celebrated, as only they know how! We adjourned to an Arabian diner to sample the cuisine – dishes that are easier to digest than to pronounce.


The white sands of Jumeirah beach are nice, in a tame sort of way... That’s the problem with artificial beaches… One is so accustomed to the force and power of nature, the waves crashing dramatically against the rocks of Mount Lavinia… In Jumeirah, the sea laps against the shore with small waves that belong more to a lake or lagoon than to the majestic ocean.

The redeeming features of Jumeirah beach were the jogging and cycling tracks that run the entire length of the beach. I did manage to put in a fair amount of walking at sunset, but not enough…

Dubai: What’s the Buzz?

The buildings in Dubai have character… Towering over the landscape like an irreverent finger is the Burj Dubai - at 150 storeys and 555 metres already the tallest in the world.

The flyovers are amazing, as are the underpasses and floating bridges. The traffic whizzes past at breathtaking speed. While the mandated ‘minimum speed limit’ on the highways is 60 kmph, the fancy cars go twice as fast. The occasional motorbike and bicycle that one sees on the road are an aberration, a rarity that is probably explained by the ridiculously low price of petrol, which retails at AED 6.25 per imperial gallon or LKR 42 per litre.

Probably because the average Dubai resident can afford his own car, the public transport system sucks. The flow of traffic is – by and large – orderly… Jams are rare and tooting your horn is more an expression of extreme annoyance than anything else.

In this alien land, the diversity of spoken languages is amazing… While walking the streets, it is normal to hear a lot of Hindi, some Malayalam, a little Tamil and even a smattering of Sinhala.

Housing is Public Problem Number One. To describe it as expensive is putting it mildly. One can expect to shell out AED 3,000 (LKR 90,000) per month for shared accommodations comprising a room, a kitchen and a bathroom. That's par for the course; thankfully, I stayed with an aunt and uncle in the upmarket residential area of Jumeira.

Most Internet cafes charge AED 3 (LKR 90) per hour because they come equipped with a web cam and headphones. These are frequented by hordes of Filipinos, who carry on their chattering conversations with friends and relatives back home. One would be lucky to discover those cafes that charge AED 1 (LKR 30) per hour; these are preferred by the South Asians.

During my visit in September, I was pleasantly surprised to note that churches are air-conditioned. The diversity of the city’s culture was evident when, during the church service, we could hear the mullah’s call to prayer, emanating from the mosque next door.

Out of the Kaleidoscope

Not having been out of the country for over a year, I had been looking forward to this trip to Dubai. Like a voyager of yore, I was venturing out to seek my fame and, more importantly, a change of fortunes.

At Katunayake, my new blue jeans and crisp white shirt seemed to have the same effect on the security staff as a red flag would have on a bull. I was stopped at every point and the contents of my overweight bag were scrutinised with some interest. My faithful dictaphone came in for special attention.

The waiting room for passengers flying out to Dubai was like a bus terminus. The teeming masses (that remit foreign exchange that keeps CBSL from going under) were in traveling mode, it seems.

The SriLankan Airlines flight was lovely. As we left the lush greenery and red-tiled roofs behind, I settled down with a can of Carlsberg beer – and then another. Through the window, I was pensive as we flew over the southern part of India, before the aroma of delicious chicken biriyani brought me back to reality. After tucking into a scrumptious meal like that, a few minutes of snoozing is mandatory. On awakening, I sipped a glass of coffee-flavoured Tia Maria and awaited the descent.

Flying into the Gulf, one sees a vast expanse of desert... nothing but sand dunes as far as eye could see… until a few minutes before landing.

The Dubai arrivals lounge has an international flavour to it, with all those nationalities scurrying hither and thither like ants. Emerging from the airport terminus was like exiting the New Delhi airport – a crowd of South Asian-looking persons (‘cabbies’, probably) crowded the entrance.

Since it was an evening in September, I had – I was told - escaped the worst of the heat, but it was hot nevertheless. The uncle’s air-conditioned Camry whisked me away at fast clip, past signboards that read ‘Minimum Speed Limit: 60 kmph’ and ‘Maximum Speed Limit 100 kmph’.

Welcome to life in the fast lane!

30 Years of Liberation

July 2007 marks the 30th anniversary of the free market in Sri Lanka.

“The United National Party led by Junius Richard Jayewardene (‘JR’) swept to victory over Sirimavo Bandaranaike's Sri Lanka Freedom Party. With JR’s swearing in as Prime Minister on July 23rd 2007 came liberalisation of the economy. The shackles of a closed, state-controlled economy - which witnessed bread queues and foreign exchange shortages - were broken. JR opened the economy to market forces, to which many credit the subsequent growth - but also greater social divisions. The move also destroyed local industry to some extent.”

- Feizal Samath, Business Editor, The ST Financial Times (STFT)

STFT: Has the open economy brought gains to this country?

AM: Yes… The foreign exchange crisis of the 1970s brought home the message that we are living in an interlinked world. We realised, even before other countries did, the need to set our sails according to the new economic winds that had begun to blow across the globe.

STFT: Would we have done any better under a free market if not for the conflict that broke out in the early 1980s?

AM: Yes… The conflict represents a diversion of productive resources for destructive purposes. These could have been better deployed on infrastructure and social development.

STFT: Assuming there had been no conflict, would Sri Lanka have developed to become a successful state like other thriving Asian economies?

AM: Yes… It is estimated that the conflict has trimmed 2 percentage points off our GDP each year. The compounded effect is that our per capita income would have been at least 60% higher than it currently is. Besides, the 'brain drain' phenomenon wouldn't have been as rapid.

STFT: Has local industry been affected by the free market?

AM: Yes… Economic forces have caused some domestic industries to perform and others to perish. With uncompetitive firms having fallen by the wayside, there have been social costs.

Another Day Has Dawned...

Early mornings in Colombo are divine; the temperature and humidity are comfortably low. The wind rustling through the palm trees outside my window seems to whisper, “Rise and shine”, and I am inclined to obey…

At precisely 5:30, unseen exotic birds begin an impromptu jugalbandi while the crows, buffeted by the breeze, fly an erratic path – like revelers after a night of indulgence. High above, more than a dozen geese drift across the lightening skies in perfect V-formation; 'unflappable' is the word that comes to mind..!
"God's in his Heaven –
All's right with the world!”

Tiring of their exertions, the crows begin their raucous cacophony, ending the jugalbandi as effectively as the moral police breaking up a rock concert.

Another day has dawned… Day 424...

A Good Egg, Scrambled

I tried my hand at anagrams, attempting to develop a nom de plume. So, what do you get when you unscramble ANTONY MOTHA? A good egg - no doubt, but I was referring to the letters.

MONTY ON A HAT – My favourite. You can almost visualize the little fellow in a comparative state of undress, prancing on a sombrero

ANNA MY TOOTH – Highly feminine. It reminds me of a toothache and a sweet tooth, both sensations associated with that particular gender

MATT YOHANNO – Macho. The first association is with Matt Dillon. And I did have a class-mate called 'Yohann Basu' once

HATTAN Y-MOON – Kind of lunatic, but don’t reject it outright. The UN Secretary General’s name is even more prohibitive: Ban Ki-moon!

What do you think?

Wanted: Dignity and Souvenirs

SV: Vani is demanding her souvenirs right now and so is the guy who sits in your place. He can neither contain his excitement nor retain his dignity.

AM: I found that comment amusing – the one about a certain individual finding it hard to retain his dignity... In terms of financial knowledge, I might have a worthy successor. However, there are a lot of important 'human' characteristics that are hard to come by, it appears! Give him time.

From a Mail to Chris, My Daughter

Mum has kept me informed of what an obedient daughter you are. Keep it up..! I am proud of what you have become... I hope that, in the years to come, you will continue being the loving and obedient daughter that you have always been.

Just a few days ago, Mum and I were thinking back to the day you were born - and marveling at the fact that our little bundle of joy is on the verge of graduating from high school! Life is such a marvelous gift, my daughter. Enjoy it - and make the most of it.

From a Mail to Jonty, My Son

Congratulations on having been promoted to Std VII..!

Let's look to the future: You need to seriously start thinking about what you want out of life. You must focus on what you are best at... I am not insisting on great marks in the 'tough subjects', but it is essential that you pass at least. So, buck up, okay..?

Mum and I have tried to teach you right from wrong - and you have made us proud so often. I want you to continue being the wonderful son that you have always been to us...

Enjoy the Present: VL

Time is short and one is never certain what the future will bring. I have learnt this through my experience of the past months… Therefore, it is important to enjoy the present, as much as plan for the future.

A Cricketing Analogy: AS2

Play to your strengths... With the Cricket World Cup having commenced, I am tempted to use a cricketing analogy: You cannot expect every player to be an all-rounder. You cannot expect a Rahul Dravid to bowl. So, if PoSS and Commercial control are your strengths, your areas of expertise, focus on them. Ensure that you bring about some solid improvements in these areas.